Monday, April 23, 2007

The Big Decision

If any of you have kids in college, you know how it works. By April 1, all the accept/reject letters have arrived. You then have until May 1 to make a decision and put down a deposit to secure a place in the freshman class of your choice. If any of you have high school seniors, then you alos know that this has been one of the most competitive years ever. The number of applications to colleges was about a gazillion, with more kids going to college and more applications per kid. To make a long story short, son #1 was not accepted at any of his top 4 choices. It came down to Binghamton University and the Honors program at the University of Delaware. The pros/cons:Binghamton is one of the best public universities in the country and in-state tuition is dirt cheap ($6,000), but Binghamton is not one of the most exciting places to be. UDel has better facilities and access to Baltimore and Philadelphia. The out-of-state tuition is very reasonable ($18,000) and the honors program probably enhances the academics to make it equivalent to that at Binghamton. Last weekend DH took him to Binghamton and this weekend I took him to Delaware. I'm sure it helped that it was an absolutely beautiful day, but after meeting with current Honors students and hearing about the Study Abroad program, he decided he wants to be at Delaware for the next 4 years. And so there it is, probably one of the biggest decisions he will face in his life, and he has made it.

4 comments:

Well that actually sounds like it wasn't too painful. College is a huge decision and it sounds like he reasoned it out and made a good one. Tell him good luck and enjoy cause real life waits just around the corner :)

With sons in 7th and 5th grades, I know that I'm not very far behind you at all in this journey. I'm happy your son has made his decision and wish him all the success and happiness life has to offer!

Incidentally, I'm in the midst of what I'm calling my "Great Dinner Experiment", which I basically stole from your GBE. Well, that's how I think of it. Can I call it that on my weblog, if I give you the credit? You can let me know at lgandy"at"starstream"dot"net.

Wow. This is something my family is thinking about a lot with 26/24/21/16 year-olds. We've all recently been through or are about to go through the college admissions process. I CANNOT believe how the landscape has changed since I was applying. The sheer numbers of kids attending school and with excellent credentials (all great things) has made it a numerical challenge to get into schools. We all kind of feels like we could never get in today :) I do alumni interviews of HS applicants for my undergrad and there are just so many wonderful students who I see get denied. It breaks my heart a little. I guess the good news is that now there are (even more) excellent kids at all of the schools.

Congratulations to him! (And to your family for getting him through to HS graduation :) I'm sure the honors program will challenge him and distinguish him from his peers. And, most importantly, I'm sure he'll love college.

About Me

Mother, wife, health professional. A former vegetarian, I am now beginning my Paleo lifestyle journey. In 2008, I competed in a sprint triathlon, after a 21 year hiatus. Now an avid cyclist with cranky knees, trying to find a way to balance work, family, friends, fitness and food. Blending cooking, photography, time outdoors, reading and writing. That's pretty ordinary, don't ya think?